Company Nestle Water

Nestlé S.A. ( ) is a multinational packaged foods company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange with a market capitalization of over 87 billion Swiss francs. It originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company for milk products established in 1866 by the Page Brothers in Cham, Switzerland, and the Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé Company set up in 1866 by Henri Nestlé to provide an infant food product. The two world wars both affected growth: during the first, dried milk was widely used but the second war caused profits to drop by around 70%. However, sales of the instant coffee Nescafé were boosted by the US military. After the wars, growth was stimulated by acquisitions that expanded the company's product range and brought a number of globally recognized brands into its fold, including Maggi, Thomy and Nescafé. Nestlé is the world's largest foods company, followed by Kraft Foods.

Pronunciation

Today, in English-speaking countries, "Nestlé" is most commonly pronounced /ˈnɛstleɪ/ ). However, the original pronunciation was /ˈnɛsəl/ , as in the English verb "nestle". This pronunciation was common throughout much of the 20th century, but changes in its spoken form in advertising influenced it to become more akin to its native pronunciation in French-speaking Switzerland. The old pronunciation, however, is still used today in some regions such as the Black Country. "Nestle" in Alemannic German (Alemannisch – as spoken in southwestern Germany and in Switzerland) refers to a small nest (Nest being the same word in English and German). The -le ending makes the word into a diminutive.

History

The company dates to 1867, when two separate Swiss enterprises were founded that would later form the core of Nestlé. In August of that year, Charles A. and George Page, brothers from Lee County, IL in the United States, established the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company in Cham. In September, in Vevey, Henri Nestlé developed a milk-based baby food and soon began marketing it. In the succeeding decades both enterprises aggressively expanded their businesses throughout Europe and the United States. (Henri Nestlé retired in 1875, but the company, under new ownership, retained his name as Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé.) In 1877 Anglo-Swiss added milk-based baby foods to its products, and in the following year the Nestlé company added condensed milk, so that the firms became direct and fierce rivals.

In 1905, however, the companies merged to become the Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, retaining that name until 1947, when the name Nestlé Alimentana SA was taken as a result of the acquisition of Fabrique de Produits Maggi SA (founded 1884) and its holding company, Alimentana SA of Kempttal, Switzerland. Maggi was a major manufacturer of soup mixes and related foodstuffs. The company’s current name was adopted in 1977. By the early 1900s, the company was operating factories in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. World War I created new demand for dairy products in the form of government contracts; by the end of the war, Nestlé's production had more than doubled.

After the war, government contracts dried up and consumers switched back to fresh milk. However, Nestlé's management responded quickly, streamlining operations and reducing debt. The 1920s saw Nestlé's first expansion into new products, with chocolate the company's second most important activity.

Nestlé felt the effects of World War II immediately. Profits dropped from US$20 million in 1938 to US$6 million in 1939. Factories were established in developing countries, particularly Latin America. Ironically, the war helped with the introduction of the company's newest product, Nescafé, which was a staple drink of the US military. Nestlé's production and sales rose in the wartime economy.

The end of World War II was the beginning of a dynamic phase for Nestlé. Growth accelerated and companies were acquired. In 1947 came the merger with Maggi seasonings and soups. Crosse & Blackwell followed in 1950, as did Findus (1963), Libby's (1971) and Stouffer's (1973). Diversification came with a shareholding in L'Oréal in 1974. In 1977, Nestlé made its second venture outside the food industry by acquiring Alcon Laboratories Inc.

In 1984, Nestlé's improved bottom line allowed the company to launch a new round of acquisitions, notably American food giant Carnation and the British confectionery company Rowntree Mackintosh in 1988, which brought the Willy Wonka Brand to Nestlé.

The first half of the 1990s proved to be favorable for Nestlé: trade barriers crumbled and world markets developed into more or less integrated trading areas. Since 1996 there have been acquisitions including San Pellegrino (1997), Spillers Petfoods (1998), and Ralston Purina (2002). There were two major acquisitions in North America, both in 2002: in June, Nestlé merged its U.S. ice cream business into Dreyer's, and in August a US$2.6 billion acquisition was announced of Chef America, the creator of Hot Pockets. In the same time frame, Nestlé came close to purchasing the iconic American company Hershey's, though the deal fell through. Another recent purchase includes the Jenny Craig weight loss program for US$600 million.

In December 2005 Nestlé bought the Greek company Delta Ice Cream for €240 million. In January 2006 it took full ownership of Dreyer's, thus becoming the world's biggest ice cream maker with a 17.5% market share.

In November 2006, Nestle purchased the Medical Nutrition division of Novartis Pharmaceutical for $2.5B, also acquiring in 2007 the milk flavoring product known as Ovaltine. In April 2007 Nestlé bought baby food manufacturer Gerber for $5.5 billion.

In December 2007 Nestle entered in a strategic partnership with a Belgian chocolate maker Pierre Marcolini.

Products

Main article: List of Nestlé brands

Nestlé has a wide range of products across a number of markets including coffee ( Nescafé ), bottled water, other beverages, chocolate, ice cream, infant foods, performance and healthcare nutrition, seasonings, frozen and refrigerated foods, confectionery and pet food.

Business

Management

The executive board, a distinct entity from the board of directors, includes:

• Paul Bulcke, Nestlé CEO
• John J. Harris, EVP, Chairman, and CEO of Nestlé Waters
• Frits van Dijk, EVP of Asia, Oceania, Africa, Middle East divisions
• Petraea Heynike, EVP of Strategic Business Units and Marketing
• Francisco Castañer, EVP of Pharmaceutical and Cosmetic Products, Liaison with L'Oréal, Human Resources
• Michael Powell, EVP of United Kingdoms Division
• James Singh, EVP of Finance, Control, Legal, Tax, Purchasing, Export
• Luis Cantarell, EVP of Europe divisions
• Richard T. Laube, Deputy EVP of Nutrition Strategic Business units
• Werner J. Bauer, EVP of Research and Development, Technical, Production, Environment.

Current members of the board of directors of Nestlé are: Günter Blobel, Dr.Beat Hess, Daniel Borel, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Rolf Hänggi, Nobuyuki Idei, Andreas Koopmann, André Kudelski, Jean Pierre Meyers, Carolina Müller-Möhl, Kaspar Villiger. Secretary to the Board Bernard Daniel.

According to a 2006 global survey of online consumers by the Reputation Institute , Nestlé has a reputation score of 70.4 on a scale of 1–100.

Earnings

In 2008, consolidated sales were CHF 109.9 billion and net profit was CHF 18.04 billion. Research and development investment was CHF 1.977 billion.

• Sales by activity breakdown: 27% from drinks, 26% from dairy and food products, 18% from ready-prepared dishes and ready-cooked dishes, 12% from chocolate, 11% from pet products, 6% from pharmaceutical products and 2% from baby milks.
• Sales by geographic area breakdown: 32% from Europe, 31% from Americas (26% from US), 16% from Asia, 21% from rest of the world.

Joint ventures

Nestlé holds 26.4% of the shares of L'Oréal, the world's largest company in cosmetics and beauty. The Laboratoires Inneov is a joint venture in nutritional cosmetics between Nestlé and L'Oréal, and Galderma a joint venture in dermatology with L'Oréal. Others include Cereal Partners Worldwide with General Mills, Beverage Partners Worldwide with Coca-Cola, and Dairy Partners Americas with Fonterra.

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